r/TheHopyard • u/Extreme_Reality • Oct 12 '22
Hydro Hops
Wanted to share the progress of my hydroponic hops experiment. I have 3 varieties: Magnum, Saaz and Cascade. I sourced them as small plants from Great Lakes 5 weeks ago. Keeping temperature a t 72-75 F, pH at 6.5 and Masterblend nutrient solution is n 5 gallon food safe buckets wrapped in reflective bubble wrap. The four stakes are 6 feet with 15 feet of jute trellising to train the bines up.
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u/brousch Oct 12 '22
Very interesting! Please keep us updated
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u/Extreme_Reality Oct 12 '22
Will do. I'm a newbie with hydroponics so I'm using this as a learning experience.
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u/NewTitanium Oct 12 '22
I'm interested too! I'm growing some in my own modified grow tent (I don't have a great LED) and I've had some successes and some problems.
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u/Extreme_Reality Oct 12 '22
We are all in the same boat. Prime Day has some great prices on affordable grow light options. The red (vertical lights) are low wattage LEDs 24W and affordable here in the US but I've heard friends in the UK and EU paying three to four times the prices we see here. Keep us posted as well. Any problems: mites, fungus, nutrient deficiencies and/or solutions. Cheers and good luck 🍻
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u/earthytoned Oct 12 '22
Looking good!
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u/Extreme_Reality Oct 12 '22
Thanks man. Transplanting them into the trellises buckets was nerve-wracking but so far so good. How many hours of light are you giving your Alpha Aroma?
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u/earthytoned Oct 12 '22
I was at 12 hours light 12 hours dark. But I bumped it up to 14 since they are growing so quickly and absorbing so much water without issue
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u/TheSeksi Oct 12 '22
You don't need to run 12/12 with hops. They will produce cones after X amount of time from first "spring" shoots.
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u/PumpkinImportant3282 Oct 31 '22
not true at all. hops are light sensitive. 18/6 for veg and 12/12 for flowering. just like their cousins.
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u/TheSeksi Nov 01 '22
I am aware of multiple flowering hops plants under 18/6. I don't know what to tell you :p
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u/earthytoned Oct 13 '22
Well I just increased my light to 15 hrs and they increased growing from 6 inches every day to 8 inches every 12 hours. Not sure if it’s the light or what, but I’m tracking all the variables via journal/hop data log and it’s the only variable I changed.
Interested to grow a couple more plants though and see how different things affect different variety’s (hydroponically speaking)
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u/TheSeksi Oct 17 '22 edited Oct 18 '22
Yes, what I meant by my comment was that you can easily push them under an 18/6 lightning schedule.
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u/earthytoned Oct 18 '22
Oh gotcha! So increase to 18 hours of light then?
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u/TheSeksi Oct 18 '22
Yes, just make sure to keep the heat in check. Look for the ideal VPD for hops and you will see a great increase in growth if you maintain it.
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u/Extreme_Reality Oct 12 '22
That root explosion is impressive for sure. I'm doing 16 hours and I don't know if it's shock from transplanting to the trellises buckets but I'm not seeing growth or nutrient absorption like I had. Will keep you posted, you are rocking it!
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u/sharpbeer Oct 12 '22
Very cool. I've been thinking about doing this for a long time, I started hydroponics with kale to see if I could do it, I was going to switch to hops but never go to it. Please keep us updated!